1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dimpled golf ball free of a great circle which does not intersect with the dimples and having high symmetry.
2. Prior Art
The flying performance of golf balls is greatly affected by the arrangement and configuration (including diameter, depth and cross-sectional shape) of the dimples. Various dimple arrangements are known in the art for arranging a plurality of dimples on the ball surface in an even or dense fashion. Typical known dimple arrangements are regular polyhedral arrangements. It is also known to equally divide the hemisphere into one to six sections, especially three to six sections from its center.
It is attempted in JP-B 7875/1994 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,564, to tailor the dimple configuration such that the overall effective volume of dimples remains substantially equal between pole hitting (the spin axis is in the equator plane) and seam hitting (the spin axis is a pole-to-pole line).
Golf balls are generally molded in an axisymmetric manner by using a mold comprising a pair of mold halves removably mating the mold halves along a parting line to define a spherical cavity therein, and introducing stock material into the cavity. The golf balls thus molded tend to have a higher degree of roundness or sphericity about a pole-to-pole axis corresponding to a line connecting the apexes of the mold half cavities, but a lower degree of roundness about an axis on a plane circumscribed by a seam line corresponding to the parting plane of the mold. Because of such roundness variation, conventional golf balls exhibit different flight performance depending on the position at which the ball is hit. Such flight performance variation raises a serious problem in the game of golf wherein the Rules of Golf prescribe that "the ball shall be played as it lies, except as otherwise provided in the Rules."
More specifically, when a golf ball is hit by a club, the ball is given back spin although the number of revolutions varies with a particular type of club. The hitting of a ball is generally classified into pole hitting and seam hitting depending on an impact point. Reference is now made to FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) wherein a golf ball 11 has a great circle or seam line 12 and a center 16. The pole hitting means that the ball 11 is hit at arrow 20 to give back spin about a straight line 18 connecting two diametrically opposed points 14, 14 on the seam line 12 and the center 16 as shown in FIG. 2(A). Seam hitting means that the ball 11 is hit at arrow 26 to give back spin about a straight line 24 extending perpendicular to a circular plane 22 circumscribed by the seam line 12 and passing the center 16. As previously mentioned, in the event of pole hitting shown in FIG. 2(A), the ball is susceptible to extra lift or drag since it does not define a true circle about the spin axis 18. On the other hand, in the event of seam hitting shown in FIG. 2(B), the ball is substantially free of extra lift or drag since it is close to a true circle about the spin axis 24. As a consequence, if the ball is simply designed such that the effect of dimples themselves may be equal between pole hitting and seam hitting, the effect of dimples would be greater on pole hitting because of a deviation from roundness. Then, upon pole hitting, the golf ball receives extra lift or drag, exhibiting different flight performance than upon seam hitting. This means that the flight performance varies with a particular hit position.
To produce a golf ball which is improved in symmetry in that the flight performance remains constant regardless of a particular hit position, the arrangement and configuration of dimples must be designed in consideration of the shape or roundness of the ball to optimize the effect of dimples. This requirement has not been fully satisfied.